Ex-EU lawmaker Goulard to be named to French central bank post

Reuters Staff

2 Min Read

PARIS, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Former EU lawmaker Sylvie Goulard is set to be named deputy governor of the French central bank on Wednesday, two sources said, putting her in the frontline of European Central Bank policymaking.

Goulard, 53, was a member of the European Parliament from 2009 until French President Emmanuel Macron named her defence minister following his 2017 election victory.

She quit weeks into the job saying that she did not want to stay on in light of an investigation into her centre-right Modem party’s affairs in the EU parliament.

In the European Parliament, Goulard was a member of the economic and monetary affairs committee and played a central role in drafting legislation on financial supervision and surveillance of fiscal discipline.

Goulard is set to replace Anne Le Lorier, who along with Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau often represented France at the European Central Bank.

Goulard’s nomination is expected to be confirmed at a French government cabinet meeting later on Wednesday, the sources said.

The appointment comes ahead of an important period of decision-making in the euro zone with ECB President Mario Draghi scheduled to end his second term in November next year and changes to be made to the bank’s powerful executive board.

At a time when the ECB is under pressure to appoint more women, the move could position Goulard to take over from France’s Benoit Coeure when he leaves the board in 2019.

There are just two women on the ECB’s 25-member governing council and one on its six-member board. (Reporting by Leigh Thomas; additional reporting by Noah Barkin in Berlin)